Harry Potter stunt double's first thought was whether he'd have sex again after being told he's paralysed

A stunt double on Harry Potter was left paralysed by an on-set incident. But his first thought after his tragic accident wasn’t quite as you’d expect.

David Holmes was cast as Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first six Harry Potter films.

He’d stand in for the boy wizard actor to do the risky tricks and moments the star couldn’t, like flying about on broomsticks and motorbikes.

But after filming a scene for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in 2009, he was left paralysed from the chest down.

Holmes was filming a 'jerk back' stunt - designed to replicate the effects of an explosion - when he slammed into a wall and was seriously injured.

He recalled the accident to The Mirror in 2014: “I hit the wall and then landed on the crash mat underneath.

Instagram/@davidholmes83

"My stunt co-ordinator grabbed my hand and said, 'squeeze my fingers'. I could move my arm to grab his hand but I couldn't squeeze his fingers.

"I looked into his eyes and that's when I realised what happened was major. I remember slipping in and out of consciousness because of the pain levels.

"I’d broken a bone before, so recognising that weird feeling across my whole body from my fingertips right down to my toes, I knew I had really done some damage.”

At the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, Holmes was told that he was paralysed from the chest down, with only limited movement in his arms and hands.

And the lad revealed: “My first thoughts weren’t about not being able to walk again. It was all the other stuff, like not being able to dance again or have sex.”

Sky/HBO

He also said he quickly thought ‘don’t ring mum and dad, I don’t want to worry them’.

Holmes spent six months in hospital and was unable to sit up for weeks.

The former stunt double’s life both before and after the freak accident is going to be explored in a new Sky and HBO documentary, executive produced by the Radcliffe himself, titled David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived.

A synopsis for the documentary reads: “Over the next 10 years, the two form an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralysed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down.”

Topics: Harry Potter, TV and Film

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_